Mitch
by Laurie Partridge
Summary: Logan has an unusual experience during a movie night with the boys.
1. Chapter 1

There is something odd about Carlos Garcia's new house. From the outside, it's a normal looking split level with blue siding and black shutters and two Norwegian pine trees in the front yard. It's the inside that makes my hair stand on end.

One day Carlos' little brother, Antonio, waved at me from his bedroom window. I waved back. But when I knocked on the front door, Antonio opened it.

"Man, Antonio!" I exclaimed. "You must have flown down those stairs! I waved at you upstairs a moment ago."

"Huh?" Antonio gave me a blank stare. He turned and yelled toward the kitchen. "Carlos! Logan's here."

"I'll be there in a sec," Carlos replied from the kitchen. "I forgot my math book."

Antonio disappeared into the kitchen and I waited in the vestibule. I heard someone in the living room. I peeked in, thinking it was Carlos' mom or dad. But there was no one there. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey," Carlos said as he adjusted his backpack on his shoulders. "What're you doin' in here?"

"I heard someone. I thought it was your mom or dad."

"Mom went to work," Antonio said. "And Dad isn't home yet. He worked the night shift."

"Oh," I said.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Carlos asked. "You seem a little distracted."

"Chemistry test," I said. "Mr. Collins is a real stickler for those theorems. I'm nervous I'll forget one."

Carlos clapped me on the back. "You got nothing to worry about, Logan. You always do well on tests."

We walked to the school bus stop. I didn't ask any questions about the kid waving from the bedroom window or who- or whatever it was I heard in the living room. I tried running chemistry theorems through my mind as Antonio chattered about his middle school hockey team.

I'm Logan Mitchell, and I'm Carlos' best friend. We met in the third grade when I helped him learn his multiplication tables. (I'm really smart and I have not received anything less than an A in any of my studies since I met Carlos.) Carlos and I joined a peewee hockey league that same year where we met James Diamond and Kendall Knight. The four of us shared an affinity for ice hockey ever since. We're sophomores at Apple Valley High School and we play for the junior varsity hockey team.

"Movie night at your house tonight, Carlos!"

James clapped Carlos' back as we approached the bus stop.

"Should be a ton of fun," Kendall said.

"They always are," Carlos said.

"We gotta break in your new house," James said.

"You pick a good movie Kendall?" Antonio asked. He was four years younger than Carlos. But we included him when we had movie night at Carlos' house.

"Sure did!" Kendall mussed up Antonio's hair. "It's about a hockey team."

"Oh, boy!" Antonio exclaimed.

It didn't take much to excite Antonio, and I had to admit I was looking forward to movie night too. We have one every Friday night. It's our way of relaxing after a hard week of school. We each host a movie night. Last week it was at Kendall's house, and the week before it was at my house.

"Why so glum, Logan?" James asked.

"Chemistry test," I said. The truth is I was apprehensive about movie night at Carlos' house. Weird things happened every time I was in that house, and I prayed nothing strange happened at movie night.

The school bus came and I ran through more chemistry theorems. I didn't give movie night a second thought until I was in Carlos' kitchen opening a bag of popcorn.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mom! Please! You're embarrassing me in front of the guys!"

I could hear Antonio's groan clear into the kitchen. Kendall, James and I grinned at each other. Poor kid! Mr. and Mrs. Garcia were meeting friends for dinner, and Mrs. Garcia gave Antonio strict instructions to go to bed after the movie was over.

"Mom! I'm in high school now!"

That was Carlos. Apparently Mrs. Garcia forgot parent protocol and kissed her two boys goodbye before Mr. Garcia could whisk her out of the house. Kendall, James and I wiped the smirks from our faces when Carlos and Antonio came into the kitchen. Carlos rolled his eyes.

"Parents!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah," Kendall and I said together.

I shivered.

"Isn't it unusually cold in here?"

"Well, duh," James said as he stood in front of the refrigerator. The door stood wide open as James selected some items for his beverage.

"What is it you're making anyway?" Carlos asked.

"Green ice tea."

Antonio made a face.

"It's not really going to be green, is it?"

"Of course not," James said. "One of the ingredients is a very nutritious green tea."

"Why can't we drink soda like normal teenagers?" I asked.

"Yeah," Kendall said. "We're eating popcorn, pretzels, potato chips, and Fruit Smackers. What's a little soda gonna do?"

"Rot your insides," James said. He shut the refrigerator door and began mixing his ice tea concoction.

Not even the odd chill in the air was going to upset my mood. I whistled as I carried two large plastic bowls of popcorn into the family room. I had aced the chem test and tonight I wanted to relax and enjoy a good movie with my best friends.

I stopped short and my jaw dropped open. _There were already two bowls of popcorn sitting on the cabinet._

"Very funny, James!" I called out. "You're a real riot!"

No. James wasn't that clever. Kendall. It had to be Kendall.

"Good one, Kendall!" I exclaimed.

I closed and opened my eyes again. I looked at the cabinet and _the two bowls of popcorn had disappeared._

Carlos and Antonio's idea of an elaborate joke? They certainly would have had time to rig something to make it look like I was losing my mind. I supposed I deserved it; always hinting that their new home was a little odd and maybe even haunted.

I placed the popcorn bowls on the cabinet and sat down on the couch. The odd chill followed me from the kitchen and filled the family room. I wanted to jump up from the couch and back out of the room, making a beeline for the kitchen. My stomach growled and I reached for a handful of popcorn instead.

"Carlos! Get your fat hand out of my popcorn!"

"I don't know who this Carlos fellow is. But I'll thank you to get _your_ fat hand out of _my_ popcorn."

A brown haired boy about fifteen years old plopped down on the couch next to me. The boy stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth and then held out his hand.

"Name is Mitch," he said.

"Logan," I said. I smiled, trying to cover up my shock. I'd swear Mitch appeared out of thin air.

"Nice to meet you, Logan," Mitch said. "I am so looking forward to watching Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones tonight."

"Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones?"

"Yeah. I read in TV Guide that ABC is going to air it tonight. It's the movie of the week." Mitch reached for another handful of popcorn. "I raced through my algebra homework so it'd be done for first period tomorrow."

I looked oddly at Mitch. "Tomorrow is Saturday. There's no school."

Mitch shook his head emphatically. "No. No, tomorrow is Thursday and I have algebra first period."

Kendall Knight entered the family room carrying a bag of potato chips. James and Carlos followed him. The three boys stared at Logan with pity.

"Logan's having a conversation with your couch, Carlos," James said. "Talk about a guy who needs to chill out."

Kendall shook his head. "That chemistry test must've fried his brain."

"Who're you talking to, Logan?" Carlos asked.

"Mitch."

"Who?" Carlos asked.

"Mitch. He's sitting next tome on the couch waiting for the movie to start."

Dude, there's nobody in here but us," Carlos said.


End file.
